Teacher Turns Retirement Into Service

Daryl Addison spent 21 years as a special needs teacher in the Northeastern Wayne School Corporation, and loved caring for the kids in his classes. When he retired from teaching, his life vocation of caring for others continued. Daryl had several family members who faced health challenges, leading to a need for extensive caregiving. He provided as much caregiving as possible, but quickly saw first-hand the importance of quality home care services based on heart rather than profit.

He felt an urgency to start a company that would provide this type of service, and this passion led to what is now Guardian Home Care, LLC. Daryl sees Guardian as a way to give back to the community by both providing high-quality home care and increasing employment.

Guardian Home Care provides comprehensive home care for people who need assistance for daily activities such as bathing, light housekeeping, errands, and cooking. One of the primary roles of a caregiver can be to provide companionship, as the people Guardian serves are often homebound.

“We do not replace family, but many of our clients come to accept the caregivers as friends,” Daryl shared. “It’s my goal to carefully match caregivers and clients, not just for services, but also for personalities.”

Daryl thinks of his staff as a family, and his first employee was Traci Austerman who he worked with at Northeastern. All Guardian staff are employees, not contractors, and Daryl makes sure all employees are well-trained and have background checks.

One of Daryl’s favorite parts of his job is to provide free assessments with potential clients to determine what level of home care they may need. He also loves to check on current clients to see how they are doing.

“I have such a passion to serve others, and want to do so with integrity,” Daryl shared. “My hope is that we can come alongside family members and provide an extra measure of care to loved ones. We want each of our clients to be able to enjoy healthy lives with dignity wherever they choose to live.”